Questions to ask about a youth group.

What sort of questions?

Not 'Hi, let's be cute together' questions, such as one article seems to want, but customer questions, tyre kicker questions, performance questions.

After all, you are the customer for a service to assist the spiritual formation, Christian and natural maturity of your child, and their spiritual resilience as they step into Uni or a job and start to socialize outside Christian circles.

Questions I have for the youth ministry team:

1. what do you do to guide and foster the young person's (YP) spiritual formation?
2. how do you encourage leadership participation and development for YP?
3. what personal development for YP through volunteering in the community or church does the youth work support or promote?
4. what are your targets for the YP for biblical and theological knowledge, and gospel conversation after 1, 2 and 3 years in the youth group, or to have by the end of year 12 at high school -- that is, prep for Uni or work?
5. what development opportunities do you give YP on committees, working groups, in conducting Bible study discussions, giving short talks, engaging in debates, etc?
6. what development opportunities do you give YP in assisting organise and conduct youth ministry activities, or wider church activities?
7. what church contribution do you train and coach YP for, e.g. music group, Bible reading, prayer, congregational committees, mission groups, etc?
8. what do you do to give YP a robust 'structure' of Christian faith?
9. do you have special interest groups for, e.g. Bible software, theology, church history, apologetics, Christian books?
10. how do you introduce YP to apologetics, conversations with their non-Christian peers and conversations with older people (e.g. university lecturers), including developing answers to questions such as 'why are you a Christian', 'why do you read the Bible', 'why do you go to church'?
11. how do you equip YP to handle common trip-ups for Christian faith, such as the theory of Evolution, New-Age movement, Social-gospel (that influenced by Critical Theory), the 'Problem of Evil', the exclusivity of Christ, and the sexualisation of modern culture?
12. what do you do to promote leadership in outside community groups (as a way of extending Christian influence in the community), or in structured para-church organisations?

Let me know, and this will guide my decision to send my YP along to your group.